


The Media Would Never Understand

by MidnightWrite



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightWrite/pseuds/MidnightWrite





	The Media Would Never Understand

When they were out in public, Tony and Clint were always touching. They kissed often enough that the same picture was never used twice, even though in nearly all of those pictures, Steve is standing behind them or off to the side looking at them with a smile. Tony and Clint were the marshals of the pride parade for two years running, and Steve was always there in solidarity. But that all changed when they got to the Avengers tower and away from the media.

In the Avengers tower, Steve was free to kiss his boyfriends senseless for as long as he wanted to. He could latch on to either (or both) of them and get all the affection he needed in return. He didn't mind their arrangement, because he had already done his time in the spotlight. Steve loved Clint and Tony being affectionate in public, because he loved both of them and he loved being with them.

When Steve would come back from tracking Bucky, Tony and Clint would lie on either side of him on Tony's ridiculously huge bed until _they_ said he could leave. Steve's favorite part about those little spaces between looking for Bucky was how he was rarely alone. Clint would eat breakfast with him, arms wrapped around one of his and ankles hooked under the table. Steve loved sleep-rumpled Clint. When Natasha came to get him for their morning workouts, Steve would go for a run and come back to Tony waiting to shower with him. Then he would spend hours with Tony in his lab sketching, watching him work, or making out with him on the couch in the corner. When Sam wanted to go a couple of rounds in the boxing ring, Tony and Clint would hang off the ropes cat-calling Steve until he either kissed them or took them to bed.

Then Steve found Bucky. All his attention was on Bucky for months. He moved into one of the spare bedrooms so Bucky didn't have to sleep alone. During this time, Steve fell even more in love with his boyfriends because of how generous and understanding they were. He spent as much time as he could with them, still eating breakfast with Clint and spending time with Tony in the lab, but he still missed them terribly when he was away from them.

One afternoon, long after Steve had found Bucky and things had returned to semi-normal, Bucky admitted to crushing on Tony. He knew about Steve, Tony, and Clint's relationship, and he quietly asked if there was room for another brunet to balance out the equation. Clint had laughed and immediately kissed his temple, staying close. Tony sat down on Bucky's lap and told him that his metal arm was sexy as hell and _yes_ he was allowed to do nasty things to him with it. Steve had smiled so broad he thought his face would split in two before kissing Bucky square on the lips. 

When Bucky started sharing a bed with the three of them, he had momentarily wondered how sleeping would work before Tony arched an eyebrow and stated _you two super soldiers are on the outside in case bad guys try to get us._ Bucky held to this arrangement until one night when Tony woke them up screaming and he had ended up on top of him to keep him still and grounded while Clint and Steve cuddled close to his sides. 

Steve and Bucky's morning runs of course drew the media's attention because more than once, when their adrenaline was running high, a photographer had caught them in compromising positions. From then on, rumors flew about the super soldiers dating, jealousy in the compound, and all sorts of other outrageous stories they could concoct.

Everything was going well until Steve royally messed up.

It had been a messy fight. Several civilians had been wounded or killed and each Avenger had come close to death at least once. They all counted themselves lucky to be alive. Steve, not thinking or caring about who was around had grabbed Clint around the waist and kissed him thoroughly before holding him close for several minutes while the rest of the team were on the way to the rendezvous point. Tony had realized the blunder and kept out of sight to avoid more media stir up. Once they reached the tower, all four of them were emotional messes, only letting go to shower individually before rejoining the others in the common area. 

When they had all settled, Steve was stretched out on the reclining end of the couch with Tony laid on top of him while Bucky and Clint took up the rest of the couch holding tightly to each other. Steve let one of his arms rest across their shoulders reminding them that they were all there together. Tony was alternating scratching at Clint's scalp and running his fingers through as much of Bucky's hair as he could reach. Quiet reassurances and _I love yous_ floated through the room for the better part of an hour, only interrupted when Natasha knocked on the wall, announcing herself before walking into the room.

"Cap, you've royally screwed up," she stated. Steve looked at her, confusion evident on his face. She grabbed the remote and turned on the tv across the room. In bold print, the headline read _HAWKEYE CHEATING ON LONG TERM BOYFRIEND WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA?_ The anchor's voice registered, but her words didn't. A picture of Steve kissing Clint with a tear running down his face appeared, followed by Steve holding Clint tightly, a protective hand on the back of his head. Tony, Clint, and Bucky all turned to look at the tv. Admiration was met with sweet kisses to each of them until Natasha cleared her throat. 

"Any ideas how to fix this?" she questioned. She was no longer put off by the amount of love that surrounded her friends. Tony propped his head up on his elbow, placing his other hand on Steve's chest for balance and continued contact.

"Well, well, well, I find out my boyfriend is cheating on me with my other boyfriend while our other boyfriend is cuddled up with him. It's quite the situation Ms. Romanoff, I'll need to consult with my sweethearts to see what they want to do about it." Tony winked down at Steve. Natasha left the room without being noticed.

Several hours later after they had made it up to their penthouse and into bed, Clint looked up from where he had been kissing down Bucky's neck. "So what are we going to do? The media think Tony and I have been in a monogamous relationship for years, and now I cheated on him with Steve." he traced nervous patterns on Bucky's lower back. Steve kissed his shoulder, but didn't have any idea how to respond. Tony reached over Bucky and let his hand rest on the side of Clint's face.

"Well, we definitely can't tell them that we've been dating Steve. We could just not say anything and try to be a bit more careful in public." Tony raised his eyebrow playfully at Steve, who blew him a kiss.

"That could work. Plus, their heads would probably explode if they found out that you were not only dating America's sweetheart, but also the Winter Soldier." Bucky chimed in, causing them all to laugh so hard that Steve fell off the bed. After their random fits of giggles had calmed, they each dropped of to sleep feeling loved and appreciated.


End file.
